Ennio Morricone Sues to Regain Film Score Rights

Ennio Morricone has filed a lawsuit against Bixio Music Group to regain the copyrights to three of his film scores, the Hollywood Reporterreports. The scores for Cosi Come Sei (Stay As You Are), Il Giocattolo (A Dangerous Toy) and Un Sacco Bello (Fun Is Beautiful) expired in 2012 under the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for authors to cancel a copyright grant 35 years after a work’s initial publication. Morricone alleges in his suit that termination notices were served in 2012, but Bixio has not given up their claim to the copyright. The company claims that Morricone created the scores as “works for hire,” but reps for Morricone state that was never agreed upon in writing.

Earlier this year, Morricone announced his signing to Decca, and released a new album, Morricone 60. The album gathered new recordings of Morricone’s best-known works, including scores from films like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and The Hateful Eight.